


Communication is key

by SunflowerAro



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Crying, Fever, Gen, Green Needs A Hug, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Sickfic, light fluff, snuggles, touch-starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26678977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerAro/pseuds/SunflowerAro
Summary: Green doesn't feel like a part of his family.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 181





	Communication is key

Ice clawed at his skin. It dug down straight to his bones, leaving him shivering even under the heavy blanket he had bundled himself up in the night before. Green opened his eyes with a soft whine, glaring up at the sky as if it was to blame for his chilly misfortune.

He turned his head to the side, _something_ catching in his throat when he saw his brothers curled up together around the rest of their blankets. An ache settled in his chest as he watched them sleep soundly, content in their shared warmth. 

Green turned his gaze back to the pale sky, swallowing thickly, wishing he could join them. But... 

He shook his head, sitting up and drawing his blanket tighter around his shoulders, nodding to where Time sat on watch upon a boulder. Green shifted closer to the fire, sighing when warmth washed over his frigid skin, soothing the shakes that wracked his frame. Much better. 

Of course, it wasn’t the same as an embrace would be from his brothers, but he couldn’t have that. He had to _earn_ their love, their respect, and he had done nothing noteworthy as of late. They would always clap him on the back after a good battle, when he deserved their affections, but never any other time; that _had_ to mean something. He hadn’t done well enough in their spar yesterday again Twilight, hence why he slept alone—not that he had ever been good enough to sleep with them. Of course, only Blue had been successful against the farm hand, but Green’s performance had to have been the worst. Otherwise they would have asked if he wanted to sleep with them, right? 

Green sighed, running a hand down his face. Hylia, he wished they would embrace him, would squeeze the deep-rooted ache out of his heart and fill it with warmth, but he needed to earn that. If he stopped letting them down constantly, they would love him. He just needed to try harder, to not show weakness—because how could they love him if he did? 

Shifting from behind him drew him away from his thoughts. Green turned to see Wild sitting up, waking with the sun as he usually did. He waved to their cook, smiling when Wild returned the gesture with vigour, jumping out of his bedroll and over to the wok that lay near Green. Wild set up the wok over the fire, moving to sit alongside him. 

Green pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders as a chilled breeze dragged through the clearing, watching with intrigue as Wild brought out meat from his slate. Wild shot him a smirk, throwing the chunk into the air and slicing it up mid-air. Green gasped, clapping quietly when dozens of neat slabs landed into the wok. They began to sizzle instantly, a pleasant aroma filling the clearing. Green closed his eyes as Wild continued to cook, grateful for a distraction from his thoughts. 

Of course, he needed to focus on being better for his brothers, but...

He shook the thought away, shivering when frigid air crashed against his blanket and sent shivers up his spine. Wild quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head—the man never felt the cold as harshly as Four did.

“It’s cold,” he said, lifting his blanket for emphasis. 

Wild smiled, reaching out to wrap an arm around his shoulders and draw him into his side. Green tensed under the touch momentarily, unused to such a casual, affectionate gesture. He couldn’t recall the last time someone had hugged him...

“Here, is that better?”

Green nodded, sighing in relief when warmth seeped into his side and he all but melted into Wild’s embrace. The chill of the morning air was blocked out under Wild’s arm, much to his relief—he found the ache in his chest lightened ever so slightly, too.

Wild chuckled, squeezing him tightly and continuing to stir breakfast with his free hand.

Shooting a glance back at his sleeping brothers, a part of him wished their arms were around him, rather than Wild’s.

He shoved the thought away immediately. If he deserved such a thing then surely, they would give him affection. He wouldn’t say no to Wild though, not when it helped stave off the bite of the cold and his mind. 

Green frowned when Wild pulled away to begin serving bowls of food for the two of them, forcing a smile on his face when the cook turned back to him to offer breakfast. The chill returned immediately, much to his chagrin, gooseflesh prickling at his arms. He took the bowl with a murmur of appreciation, digging in and sighing when sweetness filled his mouth. 

“It’s good!” he said, grinning when Wild blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with a nod, ever bashful under any praise. He turned back to prepare a bowl for Time, his ears remaining red.

Rolling his eyes, Green polished off the rest of his meal and helped Wild clean their bowls before heading back over to his bedroll as the rest of the group woke up. He winced when pain twisted through his muscles, spiked up his back, and he rolled his shoulders with a grunt. It didn’t help, the ache settling in deep and refusing to budge.

Their spar yesterday hadn’t been _that_ rigorous. Maybe he was falling behind…

Green wiped the frown off of his face when his brothers began shifting behind him. He smiled brightly at Red when his brother tore himself away from Blue and Vio, stumbling slightly with a chuckle. Green folded his blanket and tucked it away neatly. His eyes lingered on the fluffy blanket for a moment, longing to wrap it around himself once more and hide away from the cold and the aches. But he couldn’t, not when they had monsters to kill and people to save. He could handle a little discomfort if it meant saving lives—and, hopefully, earning his brothers’ love.

Blue and Vio woke with Red’s absence, grumbling to themselves but taking a moment to greet him as they staggered past, over to where Wild handed out breakfast. Their warmth washed over Green, but neither of them touched him. The lack of affection left his aches all the more noticeable as cold numbness seeped into his chest, but he kept the smile on his face. Showing his hurt wouldn’t cut it—it would make him look even more weak. 

Green threw their bag over his shoulder as he often did when they split—it was the least he could do for his brothers, after all. He staggered under the weight, the bag feeling a hundred times heavier than it normally did despite its enchantment. Hylia, was he really getting weak? 

The thought left his eyes burning, so he shoved it down. 

“It’s my turn, Green,” Blue spoke up from beside him. 

Green jumped, turning to his brother with a smile and waving him off. “It’s fine, I can take it.” 

Blue took it from his shoulder regardless of his words. “Think I’m not strong enough, do you?” 

Green’s stomach twisted and he shook his head quickly. “Of course not! I—”

Blue snickered, waving him off. “I’m messing with you. And here I thought Vio was the serious one.”

Green huffed petulantly, crossing his arms and looking away with a pout. He found his chest aching for an entirely different reason than his muscles, however. Why was he so _sensitive_ today? Rarely, was it _this_ bad.

He really was weak.

“You can’t carry it _every_ time, that wouldn’t be fair. Come on, we’re leaving.” 

Green nodded, a part of him relieved he wouldn’t need to carry their bag when the aches flared up at the slightest twitch. Another part of him wished he had been able to carry it regardless. 

*

Green found himself immensely grateful for the fact that he didn’t need to carry the bag. Hours later and the aches _still_ hadn’t alleviated; in fact, they had gotten worse. His back flared with pain every few seconds, and when he wasn’t shivering from daggers of ice prickling at his skin, he was dealing with hot flashes that left the world swirling nauseatingly. 

But how could he go to his brothers for help? How could he be so weak as to be bested by a measly cold? He could tough it out and sleep it off, then they could form Four once more in the morning and all would be fine. They never needed to know how pathetic he was, because how could he earn their affection then?

Green sniffled, glaring at the ground as though it would cure his cold. Hylia, he wanted one of his brothers to hold him. He couldn’t recall the last time one of them had, but the urge still clawed at his skin. He could never ask though, could never bother them for something he hadn’t earned yet.

Instead, he crossed his arms tightly in an imitation of an embrace. It was more than he deserved, anyway. He wasn’t good enough for their love. 

By the time they decided to stop for the night, a tickle had settled in the back of his throat, flaring up with every breath and forcing coughs from his lips. His chest ached from the effort, and his throat felt scratchy and raw, as though a moblin had raked its nasty claws up it. He stifled as much as he could, but he caught Wild shooting him odd glances more than once. 

Thankfully, none of the others noticed. His brothers were distracted by a flower Twilight had produced from Wild’s slate, some kind of flammable, pretty thing that captured their attention, much to his relief. As much as he tried, he knew he had to look awful at the moment. 

Dropping down onto his bedroll roughly, Green dug through the pack Blue had discarded, tearing his blanket free from the magical confines and wrapping it around his shoulders once more. He sighed in relief as warmth washed over him. Much better.

He pried his boots off, slumping when his aching feet were free of their confines, and stretched out closer to the fire. Setting his boots to the side, he leaned back on one hand, the other holding his blanket shut to keep the chilled breeze out. 

Green huffed when he found himself shivering anyway. He closed his eyes, hoping to find some reprieve from the exhausting dragging his bones down. Taking in a deep breath, he waited for the darkness to take him.

Only for the pain to increase when a coughing fit wracked his frame, one he could barely stifle. His back and chest _burned_ , and his throat felt as though it had been torn to ribbons.

Groaning as quietly as he could, Green wiped at his nose and sniffled. He shifted even closer to the fire when the shivers became shakes, when the aches began to drill right down into his bones. Green drew a knee up to his chest, slumping over it tiredly, wishing the symptoms would back off so he could sleep. So he could stop looking so weak in front of everyone—in front of his brothers. 

“Hey, Green!” 

Green jumped, looking up to see Wild, concern shimmering in his eyes. In his hands, a steaming bowl of fish and rice. Immediately, Green reeled back, nausea exploding in his stomach at the smell.

“I’m not hungry.” He waved Wild off with what he hoped was a reassuring grin. 

Wild’s face fell instantly, lips pulled down into a frown. “Are you sure? You’re looking a little pale.” 

Green smiled wanly, opening his mouth to reassure Wild when his brothers cut in, having moved close enough to hear their conversation, much to his chagrin.

“Green!” Red was at his side first, his eyes sparkling with concern as he kneeled down by him. “You’re not eating?” 

Green’s stomach twisted at the thought of worrying his brothers for no reason, but he nodded. “I’m not hungry. Don’t worry, though!” 

Blue stomped over next, standing by Red with his arms crossed. “You can’t skip meals, you _know_ it’s not good for you.” 

Tears pricked at his eyes and Green swallowed thickly. “It’s fine! I—” 

“Are you feeling well? You never skip meals.” Vio joined them, eyes inspecting him a little too thoroughly for Green’s liking. 

“I’m fine,” Green said again, shoving the tears back because they _couldn’t_ see how weak he was. It was only a slight cold, he could handle it! 

“You don’t look too good,” Red murmured, reaching out and pressing the back of his hand to Green’s forehead before he could protest. 

Green flinched back at the gentle touch, but it was too late.

“Green, you’re burning up!” Red said, shifting closer to wrap the blanket more tightly around his shoulders. “Why didn’t you say anything!” 

“I’m fine!” Green tried once more, but his brothers were closing in, settling down beside him worriedly. 

Hylia, he had failed them again.

“You’re clearly sick,” Vio stated, pressing the back of his hand against Green’s forehead as well, humming in thought. “High fever,” he murmured to himself. 

“You idiot!” Blue crouched down in front of him, eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

Green’s breath hitched and he looked down when the fire in Blue’s eyes became too much. His eyes and his face burned, his shoulders rising to his ears in shame. 

“I...” Hylia, they were all leaning closer now. Why was he so weak? 

It was no wonder they refused to hug him when he was this pathetic. 

“Green?” 

Something within him snapped and tears spilled from his eyes, leaving burning paths down his cheeks. “I didn’t want to let you down,” he said, ducking his head to hide the tears. Hylia, he could hardly _stand_ himself. They would leave before they saw his tears, though. He was the worst part of Four, after all. He didn’t deserve affection. 

They collectively gasped and Green shifted to bury his face in his knee. “I’m sorry,” he said, grimacing when his voice cracked. “I should have been stronger, I—” He shook his head, squeezing his knee tightly. 

They deserved a better brother. 

“I’ll try harder, I promise,” he continued when silence fell upon them. An empty promise, because he clearly couldn’t hold himself together. _So_ weak. 

“Green...” 

“Try harder with what?” Vio asked, leaning closer. Green could just make out the violet corner of his tunic along the edges of his vision.

Did they really want him to spell out his shame? Maybe they wanted the whole group to know how pathetic he was—if they couldn’t see it already. Well, if they would leave him anyway, why not get it off his chest?

“I’m meant to be better than this! I keep letting everyone down, and I…” He sniffled, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t deserve your love anyway.”

Silence, save his poorly stifled sobs. Hylia, his muscles _still_ ached, and he could stop shaking from the cold and his pain. Why wasn’t he _better_ than this?

“Green, how could you think that?” Red breathed, leaning closer. Green turned his head ever so slightly, peeking out from where he had buried his face in his arms and grimacing when he saw how Red’s hand hesitated over his shoulder.

He had to be disgusted.

“It’s _true_.”

Blue growled in front of him and Green flinched, his head whipping up of its own volition. He reeled back when he saw the red-hot anger burning in his brother’s eyes—he wouldn’t _hit_ him, would he?

“What the _fuck_ are you talking about?”

Green blinked, thoughts stumbling to a halt. “I—”

“No, shut up and listen. I don’t know where you got the idea in that thick skull of yours, but you could _never_ let us down.”

Green’s breath hitched, his mind blindly attempting to refute the words, but Blue never gave him the chance.

“How in Hylia’s name could you think you don’t deserve love? Why didn’t you just talk to us?”

Green looked down, all too aware of the silence in the clearing. “I didn’t want to bother you guys…” he mumbled, twisting the hem of his tunic between his fingers.

Red let out a worried noise. “Green, you’d never bother us, especially with something that was hurting you!”

“How did you come to such a conclusion?” Vio asked, his normally calm voice strained ever so slightly.

“I thought—” Green winced when his voice cracked. “I thought I had to prove myself, otherwise you guys would hug me too, right?”

“What,” Red breathed, leaning so close he was almost touching him. “Green, you don’t hate touch?”

Green blinked, looking up at Red curiously. “I— No?”

Red gasped, tears filling his own eyes in an instant, spilling down his face in a reflection of Green's own tears. He moved forward, wrapping Green up in the tightest hug he had ever had—not that he had had many.

Green let go of the blanket immediately, latching onto Red and squeezing him tightly as more tears burned in his eyes. Hylia, he had craved this for _years_.

“Green, we thought you hated touch!” Red said, squeezing him so tight, Green almost feared for his ribs.

Green shook his head and Red made a choked noise.

“Hylia, Green, I’m so sorry.”

Green sniffled, burying his face in Red’s shoulder when even _more_ tears burned in his eyes. Now he was a _baby_ , on top of everything else.

Warm weight pressed in on both of his sides and he looked over to see Vio leaning on him, eyes sparkling with concern—he had no doubt Blue had done the same on his other side.

“We should never have jumped to conclusions, Green. You’re our brother, and we’ve failed you,” Vio said, looking away shamefully.

Green’s eyes widened and he was shaking his head before his mind caught up with his body. “No! It’s not your fault.”

Blue growled lowly. “We should have noticed something was wrong sooner. We share a body, and yet we never noticed you were hurting.”

“We’re sorry, Green,” Red said, leaning back to look at him with such sincerity, Green found himself tearing up all over again. Red smiled, reaching up to brush his hair away from his face and wipe his tears away with his thumb. “We love you, I promise. We love you so, so much, and you’ll always be more than enough for us. We should have told you that sooner.”

Green's throat closed up, and more tears built up, spilling over before he could hope to push them back. “I love you too,” he sobbed, leaning forward to embrace Red once more.

“We’ll make it up to you,” Vio promised, leaning his head over Green’s shoulder.

“Promise,” Blue added, drawing his blanket back up so they could both share it.

Someone cleared their throat and they collectively jumped. Green looked past Red’s shoulder to see Wild behind him, another bowl in his hands and fondness shining in his eyes.

“Here, this will help with the sickness. It contains a bit of a special potion that should help clear this up by morning.”

Green smiled, taking the bowl appreciatively. “Thank you,” he said softly.

“It should help with the nausea, too.”

Green blinked, looking up at Wild with wide eyes.

Wild chuckled. “You’re not as sutble as you think. Oh! You three will need these, unless you want to get sick too?” Wild handed his brothers small bottles containing a glowing yellow substance.

They nodded, downing the potions in one swift gulp, making faces as the taste hit them. Green found himself relaxing when he noticed the rest of the group had the tiny bottles beside them—none of them would get sick because of him.

“Eat,” Red prompted him, pushing the bowl in his hands closer to him.

Green nodded, reaching up to wipe at his eyes before he dug in, his nausea alleviating with every spoonful of soup.

He sighed in relief once he was done, fatigue pressing down on his eyelids. Blue snatched the bowl from his hands with a meaningful look before he could even think to stand, moving off to return it and the bottles to Wild.

“Come on, you need rest,” Vio said, dragging him up and apologising when he grimaced. The soup had helped, but his body still ached something _awful_.

At least his heart wasn’t aching anymore.

Red snuggled into his side the second he lay down, latching onto him like an octorok and refusing to let go. Vio took his other side, while Blue lay across their legs with a huff.

“You’re an idiot,” Blue said, shaking his head. “But you’re our brother. If you try to hide an illness again though, I’ll kill you.”

Green chuckled, but nodded, warmth spilling into his chest like soothing honey.

“Good.”

Vio reached back to grab an extra blanket, throwing it over them and tossing a third one to Blue. “Here, you need to stay warm.”

Green nodded, pulling the blanket up to his chin appreciatively. Trapped between his three brothers, there was no way he would feel even a slight chill tonight.

“And Green?”

He hummed, turning to face Red curiously.

“We’ll love you no matter what, okay? I don’t want you to forget that. And, you can _always_ come to us for hugs, or if you need to talk. Anything.”

Green’s breath hitched and he made a face when _more_ tears pricked at his eyes, a couple falling when Red smiled fondly at him. Red reached up to wipe them away with his thumb, pressing a gentle kiss to Green’s nose and eliciting a faint chuckle from him.

“We’re family, which means we’ll always love you.”

Green smiled. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Green doesn't get enough hugs nor enough love, in my opinion. This was inspired by the weekly prompt over on the discord!


End file.
